Debated in Parliament on 6 Feb 2017.
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (a) what are the processes involved in producing the weekly MUIS Friday prayer sermon text; (b) who determines or approves the final draft of the sermon text; and (c) whether the sermon text has to be vetted and approval obtained from the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs prior to its delivery.
The weekly sermon text is written by the Office of the Mufti in the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) under the guidance of the Mufti. The themes for the sermons are based on an annual framework developed by the Office of the Mufti.
The Office of the Mufti seeks public feedback, including through an annual survey, on the topics for the sermons. Such feedback helps ensure that MUIS continues to provide religious content that is relevant to issues faced by Muslims in Singapore.
The Office of the Mufti is entirely responsible for the sermon texts. They do not seek approval from other Government agencies or Ministries. Although MUIS is a Statutory Board, the Government does not dictate how MUIS should administer matters relating to religious doctrine.
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